We will gather at Camino del Sol Park before marching through the Colonia neighborhood to the Oxnard City Council Meeting downtown. We will demand justice for the brutal death of Robert Ramirez, who died in the custody of the Oxnard Police. We will also demand that the police budget be compared to the budget for community services such as youth programs, parks/recreation, and public transportation. The gang injunctions and similar military-style attacks on our neighborhoods must also be re-evaluated.

Bereaved Family Displays Son’s Photo Indicating that Brutal Beating Played Role in Son’s Death, City of Oxnard and Police Covering-Up Foul Play

The City of Oxnard’s corruption has been publicly, humiliatingly exposed on the statewide and national levels time and again from 2011-2012. The people are now demanding that it must be held accountable for the Oxnard Police Department’s brutal practices in our neighborhoods which have culminated in the tragic death of Robert Ramirez, aged 26. Past attempts to place police brutality on the agenda of the Community Relations Commission (CRC) have been met with concerted obstruction on the part of the City, thus we will take our demands to the City Council.

The people of Oxnard will no longer be shoved around. Community organizations such as the Todo Poder al Pueblo Collective have pledged to continue organizing actions to expose the ongoing patterns of police brutality such as that which claimed young Ramirez’s life.

CONTEXT: 8/22/12 – “Small city with big problems”: Oxnard Residents March to Community Relations Commission, Police Department to Demand End to Brutality – Bereaved Mother Displays Son’s Photo Indicating that Brutal Beating Played Role in Son’s Death, City of Oxnard and Police Covering-Up Foul Play http://tinyurl.com/OxnardBrutality

OUR DEMANDS:

• HANDS OFF OUR YOUTH: No more beatings, profiling, or harassment!
• Crooks and killers must step down and be held accountable to the people of Oxnard
• Compare police budget to social services budget. We need money for services (parks and recreation, public transportation, youth programs), not the militarization of our community!
• Re-Evaluate the Gang Injunction and mandatory 30-day impound of unlicensed motorists’ cars
• Put Police Misconduct and Brutality on the City Council Agenda
• Establish a fully independent Community Police Complaint Review Board with the power to take strong action to address these problems